A quick look at the year 2014.
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In January we were in Victoria B.C. The Victoria Clipper, a ferry boat from Seattle, pulling into the Victoria Harbour.
The winter of 2014 was one of the worst ones we have had in a long time. A great deal of snow and ice accumulated over the winter. You can see how much when you look at the garden gate in the picture below and compare it with the first picture of this post that shows the same gate. There is at least one meter of snow in front of it. Note how the wind piles a thicker layer of snow over the beds than over the paths, providing a welcome insulation from severe cold.
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| Winter of 2014 |
Winter is the time to sort seeds for the coming season. The glassine envelopes are from seed exchanges I take part in. I also get labels ready in order to save time when I am ready to plant.
The wild flowers below were growing at the Hope Bay Forest Provincial Nature Reserve, in the Bruce Peninsula, in Ontario, where the variety and abundance of spring wild flowers is truly impressive.
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| Spring Beauty |
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| White Trillium |
Tulip time
John Davis rose
More wild flowers blooming in a park (Singing Sands) in the Bruce Peninsula.
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| Fringed Gentian (end of August) |
Hardy Chrysanthemums at Roche Fleurie
Our driveway in wet November.
Hi Alain,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like 2014 was a good year. I love the trilliums and you seem pretty well organized with seeds. I should follow you example.
Have a happy year's ending
So far the winter does not seem too bad. The problem last year was that the winter lasted much longer than usual - the picture with all the snow above was taken on April 1st!!!!
DeleteBeautiful trilliums. I am trying to grow some from seed this year, maybe I'll have enough for a reasonable sized patch. But they are tricky I believe.
ReplyDeleteActually I do not have much experience growing them. I moved some to the garden (from the back of the property) only two years ago. They grew but did not bloom last year. I expect to get a few flower this spring.
DeleteI think a lot of white flowers in spring are wonderful. And so is the color. And so is the end of winter.
ReplyDelete...especialy the end of winter!
DeleteEnjoyed the look back. Judging by that first photo, your garden has some really interesting structure to it.
ReplyDeleteYou and Maria will be able to check it out when you visit the area next summer!
DeleteWE had a severe winter but it didn't seem to damage anything. Your garden did very well.
ReplyDeleteFrom the plants point of view, a lot of snow is better than little snow. From the human point of view, it can be a bit long!
DeleteNot surprisingly, we have many of the same wildflowers. Have you ever tried the "potato" tubers of Spring Beauty? I haven't, but I don't want to disrupt the small patch in my garden. I've heard they're very tasty! Beautiful photos of a beautiful part of North America!
ReplyDeleteI did not know that Spring Beauty has a tuber. It is good to know. I don't think I would try eating it but it means it would probably be easy to move.
DeleteI expect that there is not much difference between our part of Ontario and Wisconsin. Driving through Wisconsin, I remember that the farms looked so tidy and attractive.
I have fond memories of driving through Ontario with my family when I was a teenager. It was very geographically diverse--from the gentle beauty of Sault St. Marie to the mines of Sudbury to the great city of Ottawa. My favorite section was near North Bay at a stunning campground along a river or a lake. Great memories of a beautiful place!
DeleteIt is interesting that you know best Northern Ontario when the vast majority of people who have visited Ontario only know the Southern part (Toronto and Niagara)! I don't know the North Bay area but have often been to the East and North of Sault St Marie. A beautiful region.
DeleteYour garden and area are so beautiful! So far this winter has been mild for us. I hope the same is true for you. :o) You are featured in my Blogger Spotlight. :o)
ReplyDeleteThank you Tammy for featuring me in your Blogger Spotlight. That is very kind of you. We had a big snow storm in November but not much since (at least from what I hear since for December and January we are in Victoria BC). Let us hope it stays like this. When there is a lot of snow, it takes very long to melt comes spring.
DeleteHello Alain, I never really appreciated the "flowering rocks" theme of your garden until I looked in detail at your first picture, where plants were growing seemingly out of solid rock. It must be a garden of extremes of work, challenges and difficulties but also of inspiration, satisfaction and reward.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty rocky. In some places there are a few feet of soil but others are on the bedrock. It is amazing how many plants can put up with these conditions. The very poor soil is more of a problem than the rocks. There is a magnificent garden a mile or so from here but it has benefited from 40 years of annual truck loads of manure! I suppose the soil will be about right by the time we have to give up on the garden!
DeleteHaving been without internet over Christmas, I am slowly making my way through all the posts I've missed this last week or so. Glad I finally caught up.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great look back at your year, now why couldn't I have whittled it down to just a few shots. I need to cut back next time!
I love the shot of the garden in the snow Alain - whilst for those of us not suffering last winter, it's easy to get lost in the fairytale of it all. Not so good for those living with it.
Your driveway woodlands look spectacular and ever so inviting. All the very best to you and yours for 2015!
Ciao Alain! Rispondo qui al tuo commento nel mio blog :) Innanzitutto mi fa piacere che ci si possa scrivere e capire tra paesi diversi con lingue diverse. L'inglese lo capisco ma purtroppo ci metterei troppo a rispondere con quel linguaggio :)
ReplyDeleteMi piace la storia del tuo terreno, penso che un terreno con un passato abbia un gran valore per chi lo possiede. Qui purtroppo, nella mia regione, quando si fa un giardino si tende a eliminare tutto il vecchio e sistemare con il nuovo ma così facendo perdiamo molta identità con il luogo. È un peccato e stimo molto chi riesce a mantenere sempre una testimonianza del passato :)
Sai che mi fa sorridere quando parli degli animali che hai nel terreno, procioni e orsi qui spaventerebbero tutti :D
Un saluto e un augurio di buon anno :)